When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, the Tenth Army consisted of five divisions and the Fifth Army consisted of nine, after the Fall of France at the end of June, several divisions were transferred from the Fifth Army to strengthen the Tenth Army, which was increased to ten divisions.

In December 1940 during Operation Compass, the British counter-attacked in what initially was to be a five-day raid against the Italian camps in Egypt, the Italian camps were overrun and the rest of the Tenth Army was pushed further and further back into Italian Libya. Many Italian soldiers surrendered once the British troops encircled them in static fortified garrisons at places like Bardia and Tobruk.

O'Connor had this ad hoc force under the command of John Combe leave the coastal roads at Gazala and take a shortcut across the desert, to block the Italian army's retreat, while the Australian 6th Division continued the coastal pursuit. The force was delayed by the harsh terrain, so Combe Force, a lighter, faster element was detached to complete the interception, leaving the tracked vehicles to follow.

The first elements arrived at Msus late on the afternoon of 4 February and cleared the local garrison, during the following night and day the advance continued and the British artillery and infantry were in position across the coast road by 4 pm on 5 February. The head of the retreating Italian column arrived 30 minutes later.

The Italians were stunned to find the British force blocking them at Beda Fomm, whose strength they greatly overestimated, with the Australians in pursuit, a desperate battle ensued, in which newly arrived Fiat M13/40 medium tank battalions were thrown against the British positions, at great loss. In the afternoon of 6 February, the 7th Armoured Division tanks arrived and harassed the Italian eastern flank.

On the morning of 7 February, the Italians attempted a final, desperate attempt to break through. By this stage, the British units were almost out of food, petrol and ammunition, the British blocking line was almost breached and convinced of the overwhelming size and strength of the blocking force, the encircled Italian units surrendered. The Tenth Army was destroyed.[1]

1.
Italian Libya
–
The Adriatic Seas opposite western Balkans shore, with Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Albania, was planned for Italian expansion as the Third Shore, with Libya on the Mediterranean becoming the fourth. Thus the Fourth Shore was the part of Greater Italy. After the Italian Empire conquest of Ottoman Libya in the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War and this group, first under the leadership of Omar Al Mukhtar and centered in the Jebel Akhdar Mountains of Cyrenaica, lead the Libyan resistance movement against Italian settlement in Libya. Resistance leaders were executed or escaped into exile, the forced migration of more than 100,000 Cyrenaican people ended in Italian concentration camps. Afterwards Libya was predominantly Italianized, and many Italian colonists moved there to populate Italian North Africa, the Italians in Libya numbered 108,419 at the time of the 1939 census. They were concentrated on the Mediterranean coast around the city of Tripoli, Libya was made an integral part of Italy in 1939 and the local population were granted a form of Italian citizenship. Tunisia was conquered by Italy in November 1942 and was added to the 4th Shore – Quarta Sponda – because of the community of Tunisian Italians living there. Italian colony During less than thirty years in Libya the Kingdom of Italy developed the cities and they built huge public works, such as new town districts with streets and buildings, modern ports, the Italian Libya Railways, and long highways. The Libyan economy and trade flourished very much, similar to what happened during the ancient Roman empire colony era, Italian farmers cultivated lands that had returned to being native desert for many centuries. Even archeology flourished, with ancient city of Leptis Magna rediscovered and used as a symbol of the Italian right to recolonize the region, Libya was considered the new America for Italian emigrants of the 1930s. Indeed in 1938 the governor, Italo Balbo, brought 20,000 Italian farmers to colonize Italian Libya, the 22,000 Libyan Jews were allowed to integrate without problems in the society of the 4th Shore. However after the summer of 1941, with the arrival of the German Nazi Afrika Korps, all these new villages each had a mosque, a school, a social center with sports facilities and a cinema, and a small hospital. Italian state On January 9,1939, the colony of Italian Libya was incorporated into metropolitan Italy, the French, in 1848, had incorporated French Algeria in this manner. By 1939 the Italians had built 400 kilometres of new railroads and 4,000 kilometres of new roads, the most important and largest highway project was the Via Balbo, an east-west coastal route connecting Tripoli in western Italian Tripolitania to Tobruk in eastern Italian Cyrenaica. Most of these projects and achievements were completed between 1934 and 1940 when Italo Balbo was governor of Italian Libya, as it became the Fourth Shore, fezzan, designated as South Tripolitania, remained a military territory. A governor general, called the first consul after 1937, was in direction of the colony, assisted by the General Consultative Council. Traditional tribal councils, formerly sanctioned by the Italian administration, were abolished, administrative posts at all levels were held by Italians. An accord with Britain and Egypt obtained the transfer of a corner of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, known as the Sarra Triangle, in 1939 Libya was incorporated into metropolitan Italy

2.
Battle of Caporetto
–
The Battle of Caporetto in 1917, took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid, on the Austro-Italian front of World War I. The battle was named after the Italian name of the town, Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers, the use of poison gas by the Germans also played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Second Army. In August 1917 Paul von Hindenburg decided that to keep the Austro-Hungarians in the war, erich Ludendorff was opposed to this but was overruled. In September three experts from the Imperial General Staff, led by the chemist Otto Hahn, went to the Isonzo front to find a suitable for a gas attack. They proposed attacking the quiet Caporetto sector, where a road ran west through a mountain valley to the Venetian plain. The Austro-Hungarian Army Group Boroević, commanded by Svetozar Boroević, was prepared for the offensive, in addition, a new 14th Army was formed with nine Austrian and six German divisions, commanded by the German Otto von Below. The Italians inadvertently helped by providing weather information over their radio, foul weather delayed the attack for two days but on 24 October there was no wind and the front was misted over. Knowing that their gas masks could protect them only for two hours or less, the defenders fled for their lives, though 500–600 were still killed, then the front was quiet until 06,00 when all the Italian wire and trenches to be attacked were bombarded by mortars. At 06,41,2,200 guns opened fire, at 08,00 two large mines were detonated under strong points on the heights bordering the valley and the infantry attacked. Soon they penetrated the almost undefended Italian fortifications in the valley and they made good use of the new German model 08/15 Maxim light machine gun, light trench mortars, mountain guns, flamethrowers and hand grenades. The attackers in the valley marched almost unopposed along the excellent road toward Italy, the Italian army beat back the attackers on either side of the sector where the central column attacked, but Belows successful central penetration threw the entire Italian army into disarray. Forces had to be moved along the Italian front in an attempt to stem von Belows breakout, at this point, the entire Italian position was threatened. The Italian 2nd Army commander Luigi Capello was commanding while bedridden with fever, realizing that his forces were ill-prepared for this attack and were being routed, Capello requested permission to withdraw back to the Tagliamento. He was overruled by Cadorna who believed that the Italian force could regroup, finally, on 30 October 1917, Cadorna ordered the majority of the Italian force to retreat to the other side of the Tagliamento. It took the Italians four full days to cross the river, by 2 November, a German division had established a bridgehead on the Tagliamento. About this time, however, the success of the attack caught up with them. The German and Austro-Hungarian supply lines were stretched to breaking point, even before the battle, Germany was struggling to feed and supply its armies in the field

3.
Armando Diaz
–
Armando Diaz, 1st Duke of the Victory, OSSA, OSML, OMS, OCI was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I. Born in Naples to a father of distant Spanish heritage, and an Italian mother, Diaz began his career as a student at the Military Academy of Turin. He was a colonel commanding the 93rd infantry during the Italo-Turkish War, on the outbreak of World War I, he was assigned to the high command as head of the units operations under General Luigi Cadorna. He was promoted to 2-star general in June,1916, and assumed the command of the 49th division, the Battle of Caporetto, in October 1917, was disastrous to the army, and on 8 November 1917 he was called to succeed Cadorna as chief of general staff. Having recovered what remained of the army, he organized the resistance in 1917 on the Monte Grappa massif and along the Piave River, which successfully halted the Austrian offensive. In summer of 1918 he oversaw the victory in the Battle of the Piave River and later that led the Italian troops in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. With his famous Bollettino della Vittoria he communicated the rout of the Austrian army, on 1 November 1921 Diaz was in Kansas City to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty Memorial that was being constructed there. Also present that day were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium, Admiral David Beatty of Great Britain, Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, one of the main speakers was Vice President Calvin Coolidge of the United States. In 1935 bas-reliefs of Jacques, Foch, Diaz, and Pershing by sculptor Walker Hancock were added to the memorial, after the war Armando Diaz was appointed as a senator. In 1921 he was ennobled by King Victor Emmanuel III and given the title of 1st Duca della Vittoria. Benito Mussolini named him Minister of War, and he was promoted to Field Marshal, upon retirement, in 1924, he was given the honor of Marshal of Italy. Diaz died in Rome in 1928, he was buried in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, next to Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel

4.
Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan
–
He gained the courtesy title of Viscount Kilcoursie in 1887 when his father succeeded to the Earldom and was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General of Canada in 1891. Following the end of the war in June 1902, he left Cape Town on the SS Sicilia, after promotion to major on 28 October 1902, he became second-in-command of 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards in July 1905. He was promoted again to lieutenant colonel and appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards on 14 February 1908, at that time he lived at Wheathampstead House in Wheathampstead. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 18 February 1915 and he was elected a representative peer from Ireland on 24 September 1915 and as such was one of the last to be so elected before the creation of the Irish Free State. In his role as Commander of the Guards Division he informed Major Winston Churchill of the attachment to the 2nd Battalion of the Grenadiers in November 1915. The following January 1916, Cavan was placed at the head of XIV Corps and he was made a Grand Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown on 2 November 1916 and appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 18 November 1916. Promoted to lieutenant general on 1 January 1917, he led his Corps at the Battle of Passchendaele in Summer 1917 and he was awarded the rank of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour on 25 September 1917 and was redeployed with his Corps to Italy on October 1917. Advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1918, haig’s victory at Amiens in August secured his position. Cavan led the Tenth Army which struck a blow at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. His first appointment after the war was when he became lieutenant of the Tower of London on 22 March 1920. Appointed Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 1 October 1920, he became General Officer Commanding at Aldershot Command on 2 November 1920 before being promoted to general on 2 November 1921 and he was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 19 February 1922. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours 1926 and he was also colonel of the Irish Guards from 23 May 1925 and colonel of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment from 10 December 1928. In retirement he became chairman of the National Playing Fields Association and he also took part in the procession for the funeral of King George V in January 1936 and commanded the troops at the procession for the coronation of King George VI on 12 May 1937. During the Second World War he served as Commanding Officer of the Hertfordshire Local Defence Volunteers and he died at the London Clinic in Devonshire Place in London on 28 August 1946. He was buried in the plot at the churchyard in Ayot St Lawrence. His is the only burial registered as Commonwealth war grave. He married on 1 August 1893 to Caroline Inez Crawley, daughter of George Baden Crawley and Eliza Inez Hulbert, at Digswell Church in Digswell and she predeceased her husband, they had no children. He married, secondly, on 27 November 1922 to Lady Hester Joan Byng, daughter of Reverend Francis Byng, 5th Earl of Strafford and Emily Georgina Kerr, marks Church in North Audley Street, Mayfair, London

5.
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
–
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. The Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, some Italian authors see Vittorio Veneto as the final culmination of the Risorgimento nationalist movement, in which Italy was unified. Diaz reorganized the troops, blocked the advance by implementing defense in depth and mobile reserves. In June 1918, a large Austro-Hungarian offensive, aimed at breaking the Piave River defensive line and delivering a decisive blow to the Italian Army, was launched. The whole offensive, the Battle of the Piave River, came to worse than nothing, Allied forces totaled 57 infantry divisions, including 51 Italian,3 British,2 French,1 Czechoslovak and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, along with supporting arms. The Austro-Hungarian army was equal in strength with 61 infantry divisions, the Italian armies in the mountains were merely to hold the front line and follow up the enemy when he retreated. The task of opening the attack and taking on the strongest positions fell to Fourth Army on the Grappa, lord Cavans army consisted of two British and two Italian divisions and they too were expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austrian defenses at Papadopoli Island. Third Army was simply to hold the lower Piave and cross the river when enemy resistance was broken, ninth Army, which contained the Czechoslovak Division and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment as well two Italian divisions, was held in reserve. The Allies had 600 aircraft to gain air superiority in the final offensive. The Allies, 7th Italian Army, between the Stelvio and the shore of Lake Garda. 2 Army corps 1st Italian Army, from the west bank of the Lake Garda to the Val dAstico,3 Army corps 6th Italian Army, from the plateau of Asiago to the left bank of the Brenta. 3 Army corps 4th Italian Army, Monte Grappa to Cima Palon,3 army corps 4 assault groups 1 regiment of cavalry. 12th Franco-Italian Army, from Monte Tomba up to the bridges of Vidor on the Piave,1 Italian Army corps 12th French Army Corps. 8th Italian Army, along the Piave, from Vidor to Priula Bridge,4 Army corps The assault corps of General Francesco Saverio Grazioli. 10th British-Italian Army along the Piave from Ponte Priula to Ponte di Piave,1 Italian Army corps 2 divisions of the 14th British Corps of the British General James Melville Babington. 3rd Italian Army, from Ponte di Piave to the sea,2 Army Corps 2 assault units 3 cavalry regiments 332nd_Infantry_Regiment_ 9th Italian Army, in reserve. The plan was for the British 7th Division to occupy the northern half of Papadopoli while the Italian 11th Corps took the southern half, the British troops detailed for the night attack were the 2/1 Honourable Artillery Company and the 1/ Royal Welch Fusiliers. These troops were helpless to negotiate such a torrent as the Piave, for the sake of silence the HAC used only their bayonets until the alarm was raised, and soon seized their half of the island

6.
Cyrenaica
–
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya. Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it formed part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis, during the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca. In a wider sense, still in use, Cyrenaica includes all of the part of Libya. Cyrenaica borders on Tripolitania in the northwest and on Fezzan in the southwest, the region that used to be Cyrenaica officially until 1963 has formed several shabiyat, the administrative divisions of Libya, since 1995. The 2011 Libyan Civil War started in Cyrenaica, which came largely under the control of the National Transitional Council for most of the war. Geologically, Cyrenaica rests on a mass of Miocene limestone that tilts up steeply from the Mediterranean Sea and this mass is divided into two blocks. The Jebel Akhdar extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba, there is no continuous coastal plain, the longest strip running from the recess of Gulf of Sidra past Benghazi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Susa and Derna, the shore is all precipitous, a steep escarpment separates the coastal plain from a relatively level plateau, known as the Marj Plain, which lies at about 300 meters elevation. Above the Marj Plain lies a plateau at about 700 meters elevation. The Jebel Akhdar and its adjacent coast are part of the Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion, the plant communities of this portion of Cyrenaica include forest, woodland, maquis, garrigue, steppe, and oak savanna. Small areas of maquis are found on north-facing slopes near the sea, juniperus phoenicea, Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus coccifera and Ceratonia siliqua are common tree and large shrub species in the maquis. Areas of red soil are found on the Marj Plain, which has borne abundant crops of wheat, plenty of springs issue on the highlands. Wild olive trees are abundant, and large areas of oak savanna provide pasture to the flocks, historically large areas of range were covered in forest. The forested area of the Jebel Akhdar has been shrinking in recent decades, a 1996 report to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that the forested area was reduced to 320,000 hectares from 500,000 hectares, mostly cleared to grow crops. The Green Mountain Conservation and Development Authority estimates that the area decreased from 500,000 hectares in 1976 to 180,000 hectares in 2007. The lower Jebel el-Akabah lies to the south and east of the Jebel Akhdar, the two highlands are separated by a depression. This eastern region, known in ancient times as Marmarica, is drier than the Jebel Akhdar. Historically, salt-collecting and sponge fishing were more important than agriculture, Bomba and Tobruk have good harbors

7.
Libya
–
The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres, Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya, the other large city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya. Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age, the Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya, and ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya. Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire, Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century, in the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli, until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, Ottoman rule continued until the Italian occupation of Libya resulted in the temporary Italian Libya colony from 1911 to 1943. During the Second World War Libya was an important area of warfare in the North African Campaign, the Italian population then went into decline. Libya became an independent kingdom in 1951, a military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I, beginning a period of sweeping social reform. Since then, Libya has experienced a period of instability, the European Union is involved in an operation to disrupt human trafficking networks exploiting refugees fleeing from wars in Africa for Europe. At least two political bodies claim to be the government of Libya, the Council of Deputies is internationally recognized as the legitimate government, but it does not hold territory in the capital, Tripoli, instead meeting in the Cyrenaica city of Tobruk. Parts of Libya are outside of either governments control, with various Islamist, rebel, the United Nations is sponsoring peace talks between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based factions. An agreement to form an interim government was signed on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council, the leaders of the new government, called the Government of National Accord, arrived in Tripoli on 5 April 2016. Since then the GNC, one of the two governments, has disbanded to support the new GNA. The name Libya was introduced in 1934 for Italian Libya, reviving the name for Northwest Africa. The name was based on use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli. It was intended to supplant terms applied to Ottoman Tripolitania, the region of what is today Libya having been ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911

8.
Kingdom of Egypt
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The Kingdom of Egypt was the independent Egyptian state established under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1922 following the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence by the United Kingdom. Between 1936-52, the British continued to maintain military presence and political advisors, in line with the change in status from sultanate to kingdom, the Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I, saw his title changed to King. The kingdoms sovereignty was subject to limitations imposed by the British, who retained enormous control over Egyptian affairs. Throughout the kingdoms existence Sudan was formally united with Egypt, however, actual Egyptian authority in Sudan was largely nominal due to Britains role as the dominant power in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Other political forces emerging in this included the Communist Party, and the Muslim Brotherhood. King Fuad died in 1936 and Farouk inherited the throne at the age of sixteen, alarmed by Italys recent invasion of Abyssinia, he signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, requiring Britain to withdraw all troops from Egypt, except in the Suez Canal Zone. The kingdom was plagued by corruption, and its citizens saw it as a puppet of the British and this, coupled with the defeat in the 1948-1949 Palestine War, led to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 by the Free Officers Movement. Farouk abdicated in favour of his infant son Fuad II, in 1953 the monarchy was formally abolished and the Republic of Egypt was established. The legal status of Sudan was only resolved in 1954, when Egypt, in 1914, Khedive Abbas II sided with the Ottoman Empire and the Central Powers in the First World War, and was promptly deposed by the British in favor of his uncle Hussein Kamel. A group known as the Wafd attended the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 to demand Egypts independence, included in the group was political leader, Saad Zaghlul, who would later become Prime Minister. When the group was arrested and deported to the island of Malta, from March to April 1919, there were mass demonstrations that turned into uprisings. This is known in Egypt as the First Revolution, British repression of the anti-occupation riots led to the death of some 800 people. In November 1919, the Milner Commission was sent to Egypt by the British to attempt to resolve the situation, in 1920, Lord Milner submitted his report to Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary, recommending that the protectorate should be replaced by a treaty of alliance. As a result, Curzon agreed to receive an Egyptian mission headed by Zaghlul, the mission arrived in London in June 1920 and the agreement was concluded in August 1920. In February 1921, the British Parliament approved the agreement and Egypt was asked to send another mission to London with full powers to conclude a definitive treaty, Adli Pasha led this mission, which arrived in June 1921. The mission returned to Egypt in disgust, in December 1921, the British authorities in Cairo imposed martial law and once again deported Zaghlul. British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypts political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, Britain retained control of the Canal Zone, Sudan and Egypts external protection. Representing the Wafd Party, Zaghlul was elected Prime Minister in 1924 and he demanded that Britain recognize the Egyptian sovereignty in Sudan and the unity of the Nile Valley

9.
Tripolitania
–
Tripolitania /trᵻpɒlᵻˈteɪniə/ or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya. Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934, from 1934 to 1963, Tripolitania was one of three administrative divisions within Italian Libya and the Kingdom of Libya, alongside Cyrenaica to the east and Fezzan to the south. Because the city and the shabiyah are nowadays almost coextensive, the term Tripolitania has more historical than contemporary value, the system of administrative divisions that included Tripolitania was abolished in the early 1970s in favor of a system of smaller-size municipalities or baladiyat. The baladiyat system was changed many times and has lately become the Shabiyat system. The region that was Tripolitania is now composed of several smaller baladiyat or shabiyat – see administrative divisions in Libya, the city of Oea, on the site of modern Tripoli, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. It was conquered by the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica, who were in turn displaced by the Carthaginians, the Greek name Τρίπολις three cities referred to Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The Roman Republic captured Tripolitania in 146 BC, and the area prospered during the Roman Empire period, the Latin name Regio Tripolitania dates to the 3rd century. The Vandals took over in 435, and were in turn supplanted by the offensive of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 530s. In the 7th century, Tripolitania was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, and was inherited by its descendants the Umayyads, the Fatimids, established a Caliphate from Tunisia to Syria. In the 1140s, the Normans of Sicily invaded Tripoli, but were ousted by the Almohad Caliphate in 1158, emir Abu Zakariya, an Almohad vassal, established an independent state in Tunisia in 1229 and took control of Tripolitania shortly after. The Hafsids would control the region until the Ottoman conquest of 1553, Ottoman Tripolitania extended beyond the region of Tripolitania proper, also including Cyrenaica. Tripolitania became effectively independent under the rulers of the Karamanli dynasty from 1711 until Ottoman control was re-imposed by Mahmud II in 1835, Ottoman rule persisted until 1911–12, when it was captured by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War. Italy officially granted autonomy after the war, but gradually occupied the region, after World War I, an Arab Republic, Al-Jumhuriya al-Trabulsiya, or Tripolitanian Republic, declared the independence of Tripolitania from Italian Libya. The proclamation of the Tripolitanian Republic in autumn 1918 was followed by a declaration of independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. This was the first formally declared republican form of government in the Arab world, but it gained support from international powers. Italy managed to establish control over Libya by 1930. Originally administered as part of a colony, Italian Tripolitania was a separate colony from 26 June 1927 to 3 December 1934. The Italian fascists constructed the Marble Arch as a form of a triumphal arch at the border between Tripolitani and Cyrenaica near the coast

10.
French conquest of Tunisia
–
The French protectorate of Tunisia that was established lasted until the independence of Tunisia on 20 March 1956. Tunisia had been a province of the Ottoman Empire since the Conquest of Tunis, in 1770, Admiral De Broves for Louis XV bombarded the cities of Bizerte, Porto Farina and Monastir in retaliation for acts of piracy. In the 19th century Tunisian commercial contacts with Europe were numerous, France had also made a major loan to Tunisia in the mid-19th century. The Tunisian government was weak, with an inefficient tax system that brought it one-fifth of the tax collected. The economy was crippled with a series of droughts and the elimination of corsairs by Western fleets, lastly, Tunisians had little control on foreign trade as ancient 16th century agreements with European powers limited custom taxes to 3%. As a result, its industry was devastated by imports. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Frances international prestige was severely damaged, the Italian representative failed through clumsiness, but the British representative Richard Wood was more successful. In order to limit French influence, Wood obtained the reinstatement of Tunisia as a province of the Ottoman Empire in 1871, Great Britain continued to try to exert influence through commercial ventures, these were not successful, however. There were also various Tunisian land ownership disputes among France, Britain, the French wished to take control of Tunisia, neighbour of the French colony of Algeria, and to suppress Italian and British influence there. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, an arrangement was made for France to take over Tunisia while Great Britain obtained control of Cyprus from the Ottomans. Finally, the use of Tunisian territory as a sanctuary by rebel Khroumir bands gave a pretext for the military intervention, on 28 April 1881,28,000 men under General Forgemol de Bostquénard entered Tunisia. On 1 May, the city of Bizerte surrendered to the 8,000 men of Jules Aimé Bréart, Bréart entered Tunis between May 3 and May 6,1881. He had in his possession the Bardo Treaty establishing a protectorate on Tunisia, surprised, Sadok Bey requested several hours for reflection, and immediately gathered his cabinet. Some of its members insisted that the bey should escape towards Kairouan to organize the resistance, the Bardo Treaty was signed by both parties, under the threat of the French troops on 12 May 1881. An insurrection soon broke out in the south on 10 June 1881, six ironclads were dispatched from Toulon to join the French Navy ships in Tunisian waters. In Sfax, three ironclads from the Division of the Levant were already present, together with four cannon boats, Sfax was bombarded, and on 16 July the city was invested after hard fighting, with 7 dead and 32 wounded for the French. At Kairouan 32,000 men,6,000 horses and 20,000 tons of supplies, Kairouan was taken without a fight on 28 October 1881. Great Britain and Germany silently approved the invasion of the country, in 1882, Paul Cambon energetically took advantage of his position as Resident, leaving the Bey essentially powerless, and in effect administering Tunisia as another French colony

11.
Battle of France
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The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 during the Second World War. Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an invasion of France, the German plan for the invasion of France consisted of two main operations. After the withdrawal of the BEF, the German forces began Fall Rot on 5 June, the sixty remaining French divisions made a determined resistance but were unable to overcome the German air superiority and armoured mobility. German tanks outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France, German forces occupied Paris unopposed on 14 June after a chaotic period of flight of the French government that led to a collapse of the French army. German commanders met with French officials on 18 June with the goal of forcing the new French government to accept an armistice that amounted to surrender and this led to the end of the French Third Republic. France was not liberated until the summer of 1944, in 1939, Britain and France offered military support to Poland in the likely case of a German invasion. In the dawn of 1 September 1939, the German Invasion of Poland began, France and the United Kingdom declared war on 3 September, after an ultimatum for German forces to immediately withdraw their forces from Poland was met without reply. Following this, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, on 7 September, in accordance with their alliance with Poland, France began the Saar Offensive with an advance from the Maginot Line 5 km into the Saar. France had mobilised 98 divisions and 2,500 tanks against a German force consisting of 43 divisions, the French advanced until they met the then thin and undermanned Siegfried Line. On 17 September, the French supreme commander, Maurice Gamelin gave the order to withdraw French troops to their starting positions, following the Saar Offensive, a period of inaction called the Phoney War set in between the belligerents. Adolf Hitler had hoped that France and Britain would acquiesce in the conquest of Poland, on 6 October, he made a peace offer to both Western powers. On 9 October, Hitler issued a new Führer-Directive Number 6, the plan was based on the seemingly more realistic assumption that German military strength would have to be built up for several years. For the moment only limited objectives could be envisaged and were aimed at improving Germanys ability to survive a long war in the west. Hitler ordered a conquest of the Low Countries to be executed at the shortest possible notice to forestall the French and it would also provide the basis for a long-term air and sea campaign against Britain. On 10 October 1939, Britain refused Hitlers offer of peace and on 12 October, colonel-General Franz Halder, presented the first plan for Fall Gelb on 19 October. This was the codename of plans for a campaign in the Low Countries. Halders plan has been compared to the Schlieffen Plan, the given to the German strategy of 1914 in the First World War. It was similar in both plans entailed an advance through the middle of Belgium

12.
Italian invasion of Egypt
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The Italian invasion of Egypt was an Italian offensive against British, Commonwealth and Free French forces during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The goal of the offensive was to seize the Suez Canal, to accomplish this, after numerous delays, the aim of the offensive was reduced to an advance into Egypt, as far as Sidi Barrani and attacks on any British forces in the area. The 10th Army advanced about 65 miles into Egypt but only contact with the British screening force of the 7th Support Group. Cyrenaica, the province of Libya, had been an Italian colony since the Italo-Turkish War. Reservists had been recalled in 1939, along with the usual call-up of conscripts, the dilution of the officer class to find extra unit staffs, was made worse by the politicisation of the army and the addition of Blackshirt Militia. The reforms also promoted frontal assaults to the exclusion of other theories, morale was considered to be high and the army had recent experience of military operations. The Italian navy had prospered under the Fascist regime, which had paid for fast, well-built and well-armed ships, the air force had been ready for war in 1936 but had stagnated and was not considered by the British to be capable of maintaining a high rate of operations. The 5th Army with eight divisions was based in Tripolitania, the half of Libya opposite Tunisia. When war was declared, the 10th Army deployed the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle on the frontier from Giarabub to Sidi Omar and XXI Corps from Sidi Omar to the coast, Bardia, the XXII Corps moved south-west of Tobruk, to act as a counter-attack force. Before war was declared, Balbo expressed his doubts to Mussolini, It is not the number of men which causes me anxiety, equipped with limited and very old pieces of artillery, almost lacking anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. It is useless to send thousands of men if we cannot supply them with the indispensable requirements to move. And demanded more equipment including 1,000 trucks,100 water tankers, more tanks and anti-tank guns. After Balbo was killed, Benito Mussolini replaced him with Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Graziani replied that the 10th Army was not properly equipped and that an attack could not possibly succeed, Mussolini ordered Graziani to attack anyway. The British had based forces in Egypt since 1882 but these were reduced by the terms of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The small British and Commonwealth force garrisoned the Suez Canal and the Red Sea route, the canal was vital to British communications with its Far Eastern and Indian Ocean territories. In mid-1939, Lieutenant-General Archibald Wavell was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the new Middle East Command, over the Mediterranean, until the Franco-Axis armistice, the French divisions in Tunisia faced the Italian 5th Army on the western Libyan border. In Libya, the Royal Army had about 215,000 men and in Egypt the British had about 36,000 troops, British forces included the Mobile Division, one of two British armoured training formations, which in mid-1939 was renamed Armoured Division. The 7th Armoured Division, less the 7th Armoured Brigade, assembled at Mersa Matruh, the RAF also moved most of its bombers closer to the frontier and Malta was reinforced to threaten the Italian supply route to Libya

13.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

14.
Maletti Group
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The Maletti Group was an ad hoc mechanised unit formed by the Italian Royal Army in Italian North Africa, during the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe but all were needed for the occupation of Albania and the invasion of Greece. The Maletti Group was formed in June 1940, as part of the 10th Army, the Maletti Group participated in Operazione E, the Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 and reached Sidi Barrani on 16 September. The group was destroyed at the Nibeiwa camp on 9 December, during Operation Compass, the 32nd Armoured Regiment was formed on 1 December 1938 and on 1 February 1939 became part of the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete, the second Italian armoured division. On 28 July 1939, the I and II Medium Tank battalions received 96 Fiat M11/39 tanks to replace its Fiat 3000s, the two battalions had an establishment of 600 men,72 × tanks,56 × vehicles,37 × motorcycles and 76 × trailers. The medium tanks reinforced the 324 × L3/35 tankettes already in Libya, on 29 August, as more tanks arrived from Italy, the Comando carri della Libia was formed under the command of General Valentino Babini, with three Raggruppamenti. Raggruppamento Maletti became part of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia, with the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle and the 2nd Libyan Division Pescatori. XXII Corps was in reserve, XXI Corps was at Tobruk as the 10th Army reserve with the un-motorized 61st Infantry Division Sirte, 2nd Blackshirt Division. The XXIII Corps comprised the un-motorized 64th Infantry Division Catanzaro and 4th Blackshirt Division, XXIII Corps Headquarters had to send aircraft to guide the group into position. The 10th Army, in a mass of five divisions and the groups, was ordered to move down the coast road, occupy Sollum. Once at Sidi Barrani, the army would consolidate, extend the Via Balbia by building the Via della Vittoria to move forward, destroy British counter-attacks. The immobility of the infantry divisions forced Graziani to use the coast road, despite the mechanised forces in the army. XXIII Corps advanced to Sidi Barrani along the coast road, having received enough lorries to motorise one infantry division and partly motorise three more for the advance. The un-motorized 1st Libyan Division Sibelle and 2nd Libyan Division Pescatori, were to march on foot for the 97 kilometres to the objective, the 2nd Raggruppamento Carri remained at Bardia, except for the IX Light Tank Battalion which joined the 2nd Libyan Division Pescatori. The Maletti Group had the II Medium Tank Battalion with M11/39 tanks, the 10th Army advanced to Sollum then along the coast road two divisions forward, behind a screen of motorcyclists, tanks, motorised infantry and artillery. On 14 September, the rest of the 1st Raggruppamento Carri followed the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle, the Maletti Group was west of the objective, having been hampered by lack of supplies and disorganisation. The 1st Blackshirt Division took Sidi Barrani and the advance stopped at Maktila,10 miles beyond, the 10th Army began to prepare an advance to Mersa Matruh for 16 December but was forestalled by Operation Compass. The camp at Nibeiwa was a rectangle about 1. 6-by-2. 4-kilometre, with a bank, mines had been laid but at the north-west corner, there was a gap in the minefield for delivery lorries and a British night reconnaissance found the entrance

15.
Sidi Barrani
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Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about 95 km east of the border with Libya, and around 240 km from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya and it has food and gasoline outlets, and one small hotel, but has virtually no tourist activity or visited historical curiosities. It is the site of an Egyptian air force base, the Italian Tenth Army built a series of forts in the vicinity. American Field Service volunteers, providing services and serving with the British 8th Army were based in the area. Sidi Barrani was a destination during the solar eclipse on October 3,2005, as expeditions traveled to the best observation point. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert, in Kurt Vonneguts novel Bluebeard, Sidi Barrani is the site where Dan Gregory was killed on December 7,1940 during the Battle of Sidi Barrani. The battle commenced until 10 December, in which 30,000 British troops defeated almost 80,000 Italian soldiers holding the town, spike Milligan was, according to his memoirs, posted to Sidi Barrani during the Second World War. Photograph of twilight Sidi Barrani solar eclipse, Hungarian-foto Sidi-twilight, photograph of solar eclipse at Sidi Barrani, Hungarian-foto Sidi-eclipse. Photograph of Sidi Barrani observers, Hungarian-foto Sidi-people

16.
Fiat M11/39
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The Fiat-Ansaldo M11/39 was an Italian medium tank first produced prior to World War II. The M11/39 saw service in Africa and Italy, the official Italian designation was Carro Armato M11/39. The designation for the M11/39 is as follows, M for Medio, followed by the weight in tonnes, the M11/39 was developed as a breakthrough tank. The design of the M11/39 was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton and this influence is reflected particularly in the track and suspension design. A novelty of the design was the placement of the reduction gears inside the front-mounted drive sprockets. Service use of the M11/39 was short due to deficiencies in its design. The design concept was to use the gun against other tanks. The gun was in a position with traverse restricted to 15° to port. Dual 8 mm machine guns were housed in a small rotating one-man turret, the original intent was to place the 37 mm /L40 armament in the turret but there was insufficient space. The gun placement followed the French Char B1 and anticipated the early versions of the Churchill tank tanks, although in these tanks the hull guns were howitzers, the tank was designed to carry a radio but none were fitted to the production vehicles. The M11/39 hull was modified for use its successor the Fiat M13/40, which was redesigned to put the gun in the turret. In Libya 72 × M11/39s were used in the North African Campaign,24 operated in the East Africa Campaign, the M11 was vastly superior to the 36 × L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes stationed in East Africa. The M11/39 proved somewhat successful in encounters with the British Light Tank Mk VI. The 37 mm gun of the M11 acted as a deterrent against attacks by these relatively fast but thin-skinned vehicles, the tank was outclassed by heavier British cruiser and Infantry tanks, the Cruiser Mk I, Cruiser Mk II, Cruiser Mk III and Matilda. On 13 September 1940, M11s participated in the Italian invasion of Egypt, on 9 December 1940, M11s also operated defensively in the opening stages of the British counter-offensive, Operation Compass. When Operation Compass was launched, many of the M11/39s were damaged, broken, the British used Matilda tanks to overrun many of the Italian positions and the M11s could do little against the heavy armour of the Matildas. From 10 April 1941, during the siege of Tobruk, some captured M11s were employed by the 6th Australian Division Cavalry Regiment over some months. The Australians painted large white kangaroo symbols on the tanks and used the captured M11s, together with several M13s, the tanks were then destroyed to deny them to the advancing Axis forces in the spring of 1941

17.
North Africa
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North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans

18.
L3/35
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The L3/35 or Carro Veloce CV-35 was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. Although designated a tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight. The L3/35 was developed from the Carden Loyd Mark VI tankette, the first vehicle developed by the Italians from the Carden Lloyd tankette was designated CV-29, CV being an abbreviation of Carro Veloce and 29 as the year of adoption. In 1933, a new design was built jointly by the Fiat Company of Turin and this vehicle was introduced as the Fiat-Ansaldo CV-33. In 1935, an improved model of the CV-33 was introduced and designated CV-35. The primary differences were that the armour was bolted rather than riveted, many older CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35. In 1938, the vehicles were redesignated L3/33 and the L3/35, in 1938, a further development of the L3 design was designated L3/38. The L3/38 had torsion bar suspension and two versions of a single mounted 13.2 mm machine gun, in 1937 Brazil bought 24 L3/38s which arrived in 1938. The L3/38s exported to Brazil were designated CV33/II, the Roman numeral II represents the second version of the original L3/33 version. The L3/35 version exported to Brazil would be CV33/I, the CV33/II Brazilian export was armed with a single 13.2 mm Madsen machine gun. Italy retrofitted at least 12 L3/35s to meet the specifications of the L3/38, the converted L3/35s with the L3/38s torsion bar suspension saw limited service in September 1943 until June 1944. These L3/38s versions of the L3/35s were armed with a single 13.2 mm Breda M31 machine gun, the L3/35 was a lightly armoured two-man vehicle typically armed with twin 8 mm machine guns, though variants were developed with other armament. Other than the number and type of guns, the differences between the L3/35 and the L3/33 were few. Both featured riveted and welded construction, the vehicles commander/gunner sat on the left and the driver sat on the right. The engine was mounted transversely in the rear, a circular radiator was mounted behind the engine. The transmission went to the front to the final drive, the Vickers-Carden-Lloyd type suspension had two three-wheel bogies on leaf spring and a single unsprung wheel on each side. There was a wood rail that the top run of the tracks went on. Between 2,000 and 2,500 L3 tankettes were built in different models and variants for the Royal Italian Army, twenty L3/33 tankettes were sold to China

19.
Operation Compass
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Operation Compass was the first large Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. British and other Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and Cyrenaica, the 10th Army was swiftly defeated and the British prolonged the operation, to pursue the remnants of the 10th Army to Beda Fomm and El Agheila on the Gulf of Sirte. The British took 138,000 Italian and Libyan prisoners, hundreds of tanks and over 1,000 guns and aircraft for a loss of 1,900 men killed and wounded, about 10 percent of their infantry. When war was declared, the 5th Army was in Tripolitania the western Libyan province, once the French in Tunisia no longer posed a threat to Tripolitania, units of the 5th Army were used to reinforce the 10th Army. When Governor-General of Libya Italo Balbo was killed by friendly fire, Graziani expressed doubts about the capabilities of the large non-mechanized force to defeat the British, who though smaller in numbers were motorised. After being reinforced from the 5th Army, the 10th Army controlled the equivalent of four corps with 150,000 infantry,1,600 guns,600 tankettes and tanks and 331 aircraft. The XX Corps had the 60th Infantry Division Sabratha and the XXI Corps had the 1st Blackshirt Division 23 Marzo, the 2nd Blackshirt Division 28 Ottobre and the 63 Infantry Division Cirene. XXII Corps had the 61st Infantry Division Sirte and XXIII Corps had the 4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaio, the new Group of Libyan Divisions had the Maletti Group, the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle and the 2nd Libyan Division Pescatori. The only non-infantry formation was the partially motorised and lightly armoured Maletti Group, on 29 August, as more tanks arrived from Italy, the Comando carri della Libia was formed under the command of Colonel Valentini, with three Raggruppamenti. Raggruppamento Maletti became part of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia, with the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle, the Western Desert Force was commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard OConnor with the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 7th Armoured Division. From 14 December, troops of the 6th Australian Infantry Division, replaced the 4th Indian Division, the British had some fast Cruiser Mk I, Cruiser Mk II and Cruiser Mk III tanks with Ordnance QF 2-pounder guns, which were superior to Fiat M11/39 tanks. Italy declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940, during the next few months there were raids and skirmishes between Italian forces in Libya and British and Commonwealth forces in Egypt. On 12 June 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet bombarded Tobruk, the force included the cruisers HMS Liverpool and HMS Gloucester also exchanged fire with the Italian cruiser San Giorgio. Royal Air Force Blenheim bombers from No,45, No.55 and No.211 squadrons, hit the San Giorgio with one bomb. On 19 June, the British submarine HMS Parthian fired two torpedoes at San Giorgio but missed, San Giorgios role was then to support the local anti-aircraft units and claimed 47 British aircraft shot down or damaged. San Giorgio also shot down the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft carrying Italo Balbo, on 13 September 1940, the Italian 10th Army advanced into Egypt in Operazione E. As the Italians advanced, the small British force at Sollum withdrew to the defensive position east of Mersa Matruh. The Italian advance was harassed by the 3rd Coldstream Guards, attached artillery, after recapturing Fort Capuzzo, the Italians advanced approximately 95 kilometres in three days and on 16 September, the advance stopped at Maktila,16 kilometres beyond Sidi Barrani

20.
Counterattack
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A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in war games. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, a saying, attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte illustrate the tactical importance of the counterattack, the greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory. Counter-offensive Battleplan United States Department of Defense, Dictionary of Military, published by, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo

21.
Bardia
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Bardia, or El Burdi is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya. It is also known as Bórdi Slemán. In Roman times the town was known as Petras Maior, during World War I, German U-boats made several landings in the port of Bardia in support of the Senussi order during their revolt against British and Italian colonial rule. During World War II, it was the site of a major Italian fortification, on 21 June 1940, the town was bombarded by the 7th Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. However the bombardment is reported to have only caused minimal damage, the town was taken during Operation Compass by Commonwealth forces consisting mainly of the Australian 6th Division in fighting over 3–5 January 1941 at the Battle of Bardia. The Axis later reoccupied the town and set up a prisoner of war camp there, the South Africans lost approximately 160 men, and the operation freed about 1,150 Allied prisoners of war and took some 8,500 Axis prisoners. Bardia again changed hands in June 1942, being re-occupied by Axis forces for a third time, Bardia is the location of a unique mural created during World War II, a favorite site to visit by tourists, known as the Bardia Mural. A. I. and L. C. F. Turner, cape Town, Oxford University Press,1957

22.
Tobruk
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Tobruk or Tubruq is a port city on Libyas eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border of Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000, Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica. Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the caravan route. By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post, but during World War II, Allied forces, mainly the Australian 6th Division, took Tobruk on 22 January 1941. Rebuilt after World War II, Tobruk was later expanded during the 1960s to include a terminal linked by an oil pipeline to the Sarir oil field. King Idris of Libya had his palace at Bab Zaytun, Tobruk was traditionally a stronghold of the Senussi royal dynasty and one of the first to rebel against Colonel Gaddafi in the Arab Spring. Tobruk has a strong, naturally protected deep harbour and it is probably the best natural port in northern Africa, although due to the lack of important nearby land sites it is certainly not the most popular. The city is surrounded by a desert lightly populated with nomadic herdsmen who travel from oasis to oasis. There are many escarpments to the south of Tobruk and these escarpments generally have their high sides to the south and their low sides to the north. This constitutes a physical barrier between the north and south of Libya in the Tobruk area. Construction of the Tobruk-Ajdabiya road reduced the distance between two cities from 620 km to about 410 km. However, Tobruk suffers a serious saltwater intrusion problem, a factory for the desalination of sea water has been built there. Tobruk features a hot desert climate An ancient Greek agricultural colony, Αντίπυργος was once on the site of modern Tobruk, the name roughly meant across from Pyrgos, referring to a location in Crete across the Mediterranean Sea from Antipyrgos. In the Roman era, the became a Roman fortress guarding the Cyrenaican frontier. With the spread of Christianity, Antipyrgus became an episcopal see, only one of its ancient bishops is known by name, Aemilianus, who took part in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Antipyrgus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, later the site became a way station on the caravan route that ran along the coast. The Hotel Tobruk was built in 1937, at the beginning of World War II, Libya was an Italian colony and Tobruk became the site of important battles between the Allies and Axis powers. Tobruk was strategically important to the conquest of Eastern Libya, then the province of Cyrenaica and this was of critical importance, as it made Tobruk an excellent place to supply a desert warfare campaign

23.
Beda Fomm
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Beda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern Cyrenaica, Libya. It is located between the larger port city Benghazi to its west and the larger town of El Agheila further to the south-west. Beda Fomm is known mainly for being the site of the engagement of Operation Compass in World War II. In late January 1941 during Operation Compass, the British learned that the Italians were evacuating Cyrenaica by way of Beda Fomm, the 7th Armoured Division was dispatched to intercept the Italian army. Halfway to their destination, it was evident that the division together was too slow. On 5 February 1941, the column arrived to cut off the remnants of the 10th Army. The following day, the Italians arrived and attacked but failed to break through the blockade, the fighting was close and often hand-to-hand, at one point, a regimental sergeant major captured an Italian tank by hitting the commander over the head with the butt of his rifle. The final effort came 7 February, when 20 Italian Fiat M13/40 tanks broke through the cordon of riflemen and anti-tank guns, only to be stopped by field guns. The officer commanding Italian forces was General Giuseppe Tellera, who was wounded and Lieutenant-General Ferdinando Cona assumed command. After that failure, with the rest of the 7th Armoured arriving and the 6th Australian Division bearing down on them from Benghazi, the Italians surrendered. A fictional version of the battle may be found in C. S. Foresters short story An Egg for the Major, Gold from Crete, Ten Stories by C. S. Forester

24.
Richard O'Connor
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OConnor was captured by a German reconnaissance patrol during the night of 7 April 1941 and spent over two years in an Italian prisoner of war camp. He eventually escaped after the fall of Mussolini in the autumn of 1943, in 1944 he commanded VIII Corps in the Battle of Normandy and later during Operation Market Garden. In 1945 he was General Officer in Command of the Eastern Command in India and then, in the days of British rule in the subcontinent. His final job in the army was Adjutant-General to the Forces in London, in charge of the British Armys administration, personnel, in honour of his war service, OConnor was recognised with the highest level of knighthood in two different orders of chivalry. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross, the French Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour, and served as aide-de-camp to King George VI. He was also mentioned in dispatches nine times for actions in the First World War, once in Palestine in 1939, OConnor was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India, on 21 August 1889. His father was a major in the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and he attended Tonbridge Castle School in 1899 and The Towers School in Crowthorne in 1902. In 1903, after his fathers death in an accident, he moved to Wellington College and thereafter to the Royal Military College, in September of the following year he was commissioned, as a second lieutenant and posted to the 2nd Battalion, Cameronians. He maintained close ties with the regiment for the rest of his life, in January 1910, the battalion was rotated to Colchester, where he received signals and rifle training. It was then stationed in Malta from 1911 to 1912 where OConnor served as Regimental Signals Officer, during the Great War, OConnor served as Signals Officer of 22 Brigade in the 7th Division and captain in command of 7th Divisions Signals Company. From October 1916, as a captain and later as a major, he served as brigade major of 91 Brigade. He was awarded the Military Cross in February 1915, in March of that year he saw action at Arras and Bullecourt. OConnor was awarded the DSO and appointed brevet lieutenant colonel in command of 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company, part of the 7th Division, in June 1917. In November, the division was ordered to support the Italians against the Austro-Hungarian forces at the River Piave which then formed part of the Italian Front. In late October 1918 the 2nd Battalion captured the island of Grave di Papadopoli on the Piave River for which OConnor received the Italian Silver Medal of Military Valor and a bar to his DSO. At the end of the war, OConnor reverted to his rank of captain, OConnor attended the Staff College, Camberley in 1920. OConnors other service in the years between the wars included an appointment from 1921 to 1924 as brigade major of the Experimental Brigade under the command of J. F. C. Fuller, which was formed to test methods and procedures for using tanks and he returned to his old unit, Cameronians, as adjutant from February 1924 to 1925

25.
7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
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After the Munich Agreement, the division was formed in Egypt during 1938 as the Mobile Division and its first divisional commander was the acclaimed tank theorist Major-General Sir Percy Hobart. In February 1940, the name of the unit was changed to the 7th Armoured Division and it began landing in Normandy during the afternoon of D-Day,6 June 1944, and fought its way across Europe ending the war in Kiel and Hamburg, Germany. Although the 7th Armoured Division was disbanded during the 1950s, the history, name, when Italian troops were massed for the invasion of Abyssinia in 1935, a Mobile Force was assembled in Egypt in case the war spread. When rain and sandstorms led to vehicles being bogged down, it known as the Immobile Farce within the ranks. After the Munich Crisis, elements of what would become the 7th Armoured Division arrived in the Middle East in 1938 to increase British strength in Egypt, the Mobile Force – initially the Matruh Mobile Force – was established on the coast some 120 mi west of Alexandria. It was formed from the Cairo Cavalry Brigade and supported by the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, a company of the Royal Army Service Corps, the Force was organised as a cavalry brigade, a tank group and a pivot group. It was joined by the 1st battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps from Burma and then its first commander, Hobart was an armoured warfare expert and saw that his troops were properly prepared to fight in the desert despite their poor equipment. The Kings Royal Rifle Corps battalion joined the group as a Motor Battalion. By September 1939 the artillery was equipped with 25 pounder gun-howitzers, the next month the first cruiser tanks were issued. In December 1939, Major-General Michael OMoore Creagh succeeded Hobart, who had fallen foul of his superiors, the division was meant to be equipped with 220 tanks. However, at the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, most of the units troops had already been deployed for two years by 1940 and it took as long as three months for mail to arrive. On 16 February 1940, the Mobile Division, which had changed names during the middle of 1939 to be called the Armoured Division, after the Italian declaration of war, the Western Desert Force, under the command of Major-General Richard OConnor, was massively outnumbered. As such, it proved to be no match for the British, the Western Desert Force captured 130,000 Italians as prisoners of war between December 1940 and February 1941 in piecemeal battles. Lieutenant Colonel John Combe led this ad hoc group, which was known as Combe Force after him, the Italians had proven so weak that Hitler was forced to send the Afrika Korps, under Erwin Rommel, as reinforcements. In April 1941, the Allied troops in Tobruk were cut off by the Germans and Italians, on 7 June, the division was again prepared for battle as part of Operation Battleaxe, having received new tanks and additional personnel. In the attack plan for Operation Battleaxe, the 7th force was divided between the Coast Force and Escarpment Force, however, this Allied push failed, and the 7th Armoured Division was forced to withdraw on the third day of fighting. On 18 November, as part of Operation Crusader the whole of the 7th Armoured Division was concentrated on breaking through and they faced only the weakened 21st Panzer Division. However, the XXX Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie, aware that the 7th Armoured Division was down to 200 tanks, during the wait, in the early afternoon of 22 November, Rommel attacked Sidi Rezegh with the 21st Panzer and captured the airfield

26.
John Frederick Boyce Combe
–
Major-General John Frederick Boyce Combe CB DSO & Bar was a British Army officer before and during the Second World War. He was twice awarded the DSO for his service in the Western Desert Campaign before being captured in April 1941 and spending nearly two and a half years as a prisoner of war in Italy. Released in September 1943 when Italy withdrew from the Axis, he made his way back to Allied territory, John Frederick Boyce Combe was the son of Captain Christian Combe and Lady Jane Seymour Conyngham. In 1914, Combe joined B Squadron of the 11th Hussars, Lieutenant Colonel Combe was the commanding officer of the 11th Hussars for the initial stages of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. He had been promoted lieutenant-colonel to take command in September 1939 and was responsible for the high level of training that prepared the regiment for the battles in North Africa. Under Combes command, the regiment played a part during the early British raids into Libya, the 11th Hussars were part of the divisional troops of the WDFs 7th Armoured Division Combe played a major part in the defeat of the Italian Tenth Army during Operation Compass. In February 1941, Combe and Combe Force cut off the retreating Italians at Beda Fomm, the Italians were forced to halt and in spite of very determined attempts over two days, were unable to break through Combe Forces defensive lines. Unable to move forward and picked off by attacks from their flank by 4th Armoured Brigade and from the rear by the 7th Support Group, some 25,000 prisoners were taken and more than 100 medium tanks as well as over 100 guns were destroyed or captured. Combe was promoted to brigadier on 3 April 1941, handing over command of the 11th Hussars to Lieutenant Colonel W. I. On the night of 6 April 1941, Combe was travelling by car with Neame and they were captured by the Germans and taken to mainland Italy to be held as prisoners of war. He was later transferred to camp, Castello di Vincigliata PG12 near Florence. He settled into camp life becoming one of the gardeners, as well as keeping sixteen hens and he was an enthusiastic escaper, taking it turns in tunnelling and one of the six officers to escape in April 1943. Unfortunately he was caught the morning in Milan railway station. He escaped from Vincigliata again with all remaining officers and men during the Italian Armistice in September 1943 and he reached Camaldoli with Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Neame, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard OConnor and other British officers. In Romagna, he joined the Italian partisans led by Libero the nom de guerre of Riccardo Fedel, during the winter of 1943–44 this partisan group helped Combe and other Allied prisoners to escape. They included Brigadier Rudolf Vaughan, Brigadier Ted Todhunter, Captain Guy Ruggles-Brise, in March 1944 with the help of Italian guides, they made an astonishing 250-mile walk across the mountains in snow, to keep a rendezvous with agents on the coast. The group acquired a leaking fishing boat and eventually arrived at Allied lines in May 1944, Combe, Todhunter and Ranfurly arrived in Algiers on 12 May and were flown to England. After his escape Combe re-joined Eighth Army, in October 1944 he was given command of 2nd Armoured Brigade and had his substantive rank advanced from lieutenant-colonel to colonel

27.
6th Division (Australia)
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The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action and it was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when it was formed as a unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force. Throughout 1940–41 it served in the North African Campaign, the Greek campaign, on Crete and in Syria, fighting against the Germans, Italians, in 1942, the division left the Middle East and returned to Australia to meet the threat of Japans entry into the war. Part of the division garrisoned Ceylon for a period of time. In New Guinea, its component brigades had a role in the successful counter-offensive along the Kokoda Track, at Buna–Gona. Throughout late 1943–44, the division was re-organised in Australia before being committed as a formation to one of the last Australian operations of the war around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–45. The 6th Division was first formed in 1917 in Britain during World War I as part of an effort to expand the First Australian Imperial Force, as a result, the division was broken-up as replacements several months later, before it saw action. The division was not re-raised during the years and subsequently remained off the Australian Armys order of battle until World War II broke out. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act, which precluded the five existing Militia divisions from serving overseas, the 6th Division was the first division formed within the 2nd AIF, being raised on 28 September 1939. Initially under the command of Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, upon formation the division consisted of the 16th, 17th and 18th Brigades, each established with four infantry battalions. The 19th Brigade was subsequently raised as the third infantry brigade. Of the divisions battalions, all except one – the 2/11th – were raised in either New South Wales or Victoria. In early 1940, the majority of the 6th Division was sent to Palestine, together with the 7th Division they formed the Australian I Corps. However, France fell to German forces in July 1940, before I Corps arrived, the 6th Division first saw action in early 1941, against Italian forces in North Africa, in the advance to Benghazi as part of Operation Compass. By this time, Major General Iven Mackay had taken command of the division. In June 1940, Italy had declared war on the Allies, in September 1940, the Italian Tenth Army invaded Egypt, a British colony, threatening Allied control of the Middle East and most particularly, the Suez Canal and international supply routes. British forces under General Sir Archibald Wavell expelled the Italians from Sidi Barrani, in December 1940, the 6th Division was moved forward from training camps around Alexandria to relieve British troops around Bardia and at the end of December they were ordered to prepare to attack. On 3 January 1941, at Bardia, a coastal town just inside the Libyan border

28.
Combeforce
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Combeforce or Combe Force, was an ad hoc flying column formed from parts of the 7th Armoured Division of the Western Desert Force. The rapid British advance during Operation Compass forced the Italian 10th Army to evacuate Cyrenaica, in late January, the British learned that the Italians were retreating along the Litoranea Balbo from Benghazi. The terrain was hard going for the British tanks and Combeforce, late on 5 February, Combeforce arrived at the Via Balbia south of Benghazi and set up road blocks near Sidi Saleh, about 30 miles south-west of Antelat and 20 miles north of Agedabia. The leading elements of the 10th Army arrived thirty minutes later and were ambushed, next day the Italians attacked to break through the road block and continued to attack into 7 February. With British reinforcements arriving and the Australians pressing down the road from Benghazi, from Benghazi to Agedabia, the British took 25,000 prisoners, captured 107 tanks and 93 guns. Having succeeded in its objectives, Combeforce was disbanded, in early December 1940, the British Western Desert Force began Operation Compass, a raid against the Italian 10th Army, which had conducted the Italian invasion of Egypt in September 1940. The Italians had advanced to Sidi Barrani and established positions in a line of fortified camps. Sidi Barrani was captured and the scope of Compass was extended, the Italians lost seven M13s by 11,30 a. m. for the loss of one cruiser and six light tanks. On 26 January, Graziani ordered Tellera to continue the defence of Derna, at dawn on 4 February, the 11th Hussars left Mechili, along a route towards Beda Fomm, which had not been reconnoitred by ground forces to avoid alerting the Italians. The vehicles were loaded to capacity with supplies fuel and ammunition, low-flying air reconnaissance had reported that the going was difficult and for the first 50 miles the route was the worst yet encountered. The journey began in high winds and bitter cold and by the time the end moved off the winds had risen to gale force. The head of the column drove into windblown sand which cut visibility to nil, while at the tail, drivers and vehicle commanders standing up reading compasses, were hit by frozen rain. By 3,00 p. m. armoured cars had reached Msus,94 miles away, by dawn on 5 February, the tracked vehicles and the rest of the 7th Armoured Division had reached Msus. Creagh had been informed by air reconnaissance that the 10th Army was retreating, an Italian convoy drove up about thirty minutes later, ran onto mines and was then engaged by the artillery, anti-tank guns and armoured cars, which threw the column into confusion. Some members of the 10th Bersaglieri tried to advance down the road, the Bersaglieri had little effect, being unsupported by artillery, most of which was with the rearguard to the north. The attempts by the Italians to break through became stronger and in the afternoon, several hundred prisoners were taken but only a platoon of infantry could be spared to guard them. The vanguard of the Italian retreat had no tanks, contained few front-line infantry and had been trapped by the ambush which forced them to fight where they stood. Combe briefed Caunter to head for the north of the roadblock and then attack all along the Italian column

29.
Fiat M13/40
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The Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 was an Italian World War II tank designed to replace the Fiat L3, the Fiat L6/40 and the Fiat M11/39 in the Italian Army at the start of World War II. It was the tank used by the Italians throughout the war. The design was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton and was based on the chassis of the earlier Fiat M11/39. Production of the M11/39 was cut short in order to get the M13/40 into production, the name refers to M for Medio according to the Italian tank weight standards at the time,13 tonnes was the scheduled weight and 1940 the initial year of production. The M13 was constructed of riveted steel plates as follows,30 mm front,42 mm on turret front,25 mm on the sides,6 mm bottom and 15 mm on top. The crew of four were housed in a fighting compartment, with the engine at the rear. The driver and machine-gunner/radio operator were in the hull, with the commander/gunner, the Vickers-derived running gear had two bogie trucks with eight pairs of small wheels on each side, using leaf-spring suspension. The tracks were conventional skeleton steel plate links, and were relatively narrow, together, this system was thought to allow good mobility in the mountainous areas in which future combat was expected. In the desert where most M13s were actually employed, mobility was less satisfactory, the tank was powered by a 125 hp diesel engine. This was an innovation that many countries had yet to introduce, as engines were the future for tanks, with lower cost, greater range. The tanks main armament was a 47 mm gun, a mounted version of the successful Cannone da 47/32 M35 anti-tank gun. It could pierce about 45 mm of armour at 500 m, one hundred and four rounds of mixed armour-piercing and high explosive ammunition were carried. The M13 was also armed with three or four machine-guns, one coaxially with the gun and two in the forward, frontal ball mount. A fourth machine gun was carried in a flexible mount on the turret roof for anti-aircraft use. Two periscopes were available for the gunner and commander, and a Magneti Marelli RF1CA radio was fitted as standard equipment. The M13/40 was used in the Greek campaign in 1940 and 1941, the M13/40 was not used on the Eastern Front, Italian forces there were equipped only with Fiat L6/40s and Semovente 47/32s. Beginning in 1942, the Italian Army recognized the weakness of the M13/40 series. The first of over 700 M13/40s were delivered following a rate of production of about 60–70 a month, before the fall of 1940

30.
Italo Gariboldi
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Italo Gariboldi was a senior officer in the Italian Royal Army before and during World War II. He was awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross by German Führer Adolf Hitler, Gariboldi was born in Lodi, Lombardy. From the end of World War I and through the interwar Period, Gariboldi rose in the ranks and held various staff, regimental, in 1935, Gariboldi commanded the 30th Infantry Division Sabauda on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. His division was part of the I Corps based in Eritrea, after Italy defeated Ethiopia in May 1936, Eritrea, Abyssinia, and Italian Somaliland were joined to form the colony of Italian East Africa on 1 June 1936. From 1939 to 1941, Gariboldi served as a commander in Marshal Italo Balbos Supreme Command – North Africa. When Italy declared war in June 1940, Gariboldi commanded the Italian Fifth Army stationed on the border with French Tunisia and he ultimately commanded both armies located in Libya. After the Battle of France ended, the Fifth Army became a source of men, parts, in December 1940, when the British launched Operation Compass, Gariboldi was in temporary command of the Tenth Army because General Mario Berti was on sick leave. Ultimately, he was given command of the Tenth Army after it was destroyed and Bertis replacement. On 25 March 1941, Gariboldi was promoted to Governor-General of Libya, by 19 July, Gariboldi himself was relieved because of his alleged lack of cooperation with Rommel. General Ettore Bastico took his place, from 1942 to 1943, Gariboldi commanded the Italian Army in Russia. He was in command of the Italian Army in Russia during the destruction of that army during the Battle of Stalingrad, in 1943, Gariboldi was in Italy when King Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio ousted dictator Benito Mussolini and then signed an armistice with the Allies. Like many members of the Italian military, Gariboldi was made a prisoner of war by the Germans, in 1944, he was condemned to death as a traitor. Later in 1944, Gariboldi was released from prison by the Allies and his son, Mario Gariboldi, followed his father in a military career

31.
General officer
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe. It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia, mexico and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, exclusively, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles

32.
Annibale Bergonzoli
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Annibale Bergonzoli, nicknamed barba elettrica, Electric Whiskers, was an Italian Lieutenant General during World War I, the Spanish Civil War and World War II. In 1940 He commanded the defences of Bardia, Libya, in February 1941, after the disastrous Battle of Beda Fomm, Bergonzoli surrendered to Australian forces. He was held as a prisoner in India and the USA before being repatriated to Italy, Bergonzoli settled in his birthplace, Cannobio, and died there in 1973. This may be a reference to General Bergonzoli, annibale Bergonzoli, the General of the Electric Chin. Comando Supremo - Italy at War

33.
Babini Group
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The group was formed in Libya, as part of a plan to assemble an armoured division from the tanks already in the colony and from units sent from Italy. The new division was incomplete when the British began Operation Compass in December, on 23 January, the group managed to inflict tank losses during a counter-attack on the 11th Hussars and force a delay in the Australian advance on Derna. The group then formed a rearguard for the 10th Army as it retreated from Derna, the Babini Group was destroyed south of the port at the Battle of Beda Fomm, when the Litoranea Balbo was cut by Combeforce. The Italians failed to concentrate their remaining tanks at the head of the column before Combeforce was reinforced and were defeated in detail, with possibly only nine tanks escaping to the south. The 32nd Armoured Regiment was formed on 1 December 1938 and on 1 February 1939 became part of the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete, on 28 July 1939, the I and II Medium Tank battalions received 96 Fiat M11/39 tanks to replace its Fiat 3000s. In 1940, the Italian army had three armoured divisions in Europe, which were needed for the occupation of Albania and the invasion of Greece. The two battalions had an establishment of 600 men,72 × tanks,56 × vehicles,37 × motorcycles and 76 × trailers, the medium tanks reinforced the 324 × L3/35 tankettes already in Libya. The Maletti Group/Raggruppamento Maletti had the LX Light Tank Battalion and the remaining M11/39 company from the II Medium Tank Battalion. In November, the III Medium Tank Battalion was sent to Mechili and on 9 December, the III Medium Tank Battalion was sent forward to Sollum and the Halfaya Pass. Neither battalion had time to acclimatise or train but were sent to reinforce the Bignami Group near Solluch, the Maletti Group/Raggruppamento Maletti was formed at Derna the same day as the main motorised unit of the 10th Army and the first Italian combined arms unit in North Africa. The group comprised the LX Light Tank Battalion, the remaining M11/39 company from the II Medium Tank Battalion, seven Libyan motorised infantry battalions, motorised artillery and supply units. After the invasion of Egypt in September 1940, the 10th Army began to prepare an advance to Mersa Matruh for 16 December but was forestalled by Operation Compass. Only the IX Light Tank Battalion, the II Medium Tank Battalion with M11/39s, with the Maletti Group at Nibeiwa camp, the camp at Nibeiwa was a rectangle about 1. 6-by-2. 4-kilometre, with a bank and an anti-tank ditch. A minefield had been laid but at the north-west corner, there was a gap for delivery lorries and a British night reconnaissance found the entrance. The British attacked the rear of the camp from the north-west at 5,00 a. m. on 9 December, with infantry and Matilda infantry tanks leading and Bren carriers on the flanks, all firing on the move. About twenty of the Maletti Group M11/39s outside the camp, were destroyed in the first rush. By 10,40 a. m. the camp had been overrun and 2,000 Italian and Libyan prisoners captured, along with a quantity of supplies and water. Maletti was wounded while rallying his men, then retreated to his tent with a machine-gun where he was killed, the medium tank crews were inexperienced and lacked training, many of the officers having only recently come from very short courses at training schools

34.
Tank
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A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, and tracks providing good battlefield maneuverability. The first tanks were designed to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare, now they are a mainstay of ground forces. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are units that are capable of performing tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield. As a result of advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and this was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Armys Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name tank was adopted by the British during the stages of their development. While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tanks potential, Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design, during the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry and they are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft. The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept, the internal combustion engine, armour plate, and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank. Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or invented the tank, leonardos late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a tank show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have power to move it over larger distance. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons containing cannons, the caterpillar track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century and it is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a machine, that should carry and lay down its own road and his own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track, armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed

35.
Bersaglieri
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They have always been a high-mobility light infantry unit, and can still be recognized by the distinctive wide brimmed hat that they wear, decorated with black capercaillie feathers. The feathers are usually applied to their combat helmets, another distinctive trait of the Bersaglieri is the fast jog pace they keep on parades, instead of marching. The relatively poor Kingdom of Sardinia could not afford large numbers of cavalry and these troops were trained to high physical and marksmanship standards. Like the French chasseurs à pied, a level of independence and initiative was encouraged so that they could operate in formations, in which direct command. They fired individually and carried 60 rounds instead of the standard 40 rounds of traditional line infantry, the first uniform was black with brimmed hats, called vaira. These were intended to defend the head from sabre blows, the first public appearance of the Bersaglieri was on the occasion of a military parade on 1 July 1836. The First Company marched through Turin with the rapid, high-stepping gait still used by the Bersaglieri in World War II, the modern Bersaglieri still run both on parade and even during barracks duty - on penalty of punishment if they do not. The new corps impressed King Charles Albert, who immediately had them integrated as part of the Piedmontese regular army, the corps grew rapidly and by 1852 there were already 10 battalions, each with four companies. Throughout the nineteenth century the Bersaglieri filled the role of skirmishers, screening the slow-moving line and column formations and they were originally intended to serve as mountain troops, as well, the climber Jean-Antoine Carrel was a Bersagliere. When the Alpini Corps were created in 1872 a strong rivalry arose between the two elite corps, during the First War of Italian Independence the Bersaglieri distinguished themselves by storming the bridge at Goito. While in the Crimea the Bersaglieri acquired a red fez with a tassel, in imitation of that worn by the French zouaves with whom they served. When the Armata Sarda became the Regio Esercito in 1860, the existing 36 battalions were used to create six Bersaglieri regiments, the regiments were assigned to the army corps, with the regiments battalions assigned to the divisions in the corps as reconnaissance units. A monument was erected in 1932 in front of Porta Pia to commemorate the event at the time as the National Museum of the Bersaglieri corps was moved to Porta Pia. In 1871, the Bersaglieri corps added another four battalions and the regiments were increased from six to 10, in 1883 a further two regiments were added for a total of 12 Bersaglieri regiments, one for each army corps with three battalions per regiment. Therefore, the four battalions raised in 1871 were disbanded, of the 210,000 members of Bersaglieri regiments,32,000 were killed and 50,000 wounded during the war. Italys last surviving World War I veteran, Delfino Borroni, served in the 6th Bersaglieri Bologna, another member who served was Benito Mussolini. A contingent of Bersaglieri was sent to participate in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in 1917 and their mainly political role was to assert hereditary ecclesiastical prerogatives in connection with the Christian churches at Jerusalem and Bethlehem. After the war the nine wartime regiments were disbanded and the number of Bersaglieri battalions in the remaining regiments reduced to two per regiment, a new role was seen for the light infantry as part of Italy’s commitment to Mobile Warfare

36.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company

37.
Machine gun
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A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of 300 to 1800 rounds per minute. Note that not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per round fired, a machine gun is designed to fire for as long as the trigger is held down. Nowadays the term is restricted to heavy weapons, able to provide continuous or frequent bursts of automatic fire for as long as ammunition lasts. Machine guns are used against personnel, aircraft and light vehicles, or to provide suppressive fire. Some machine guns have in practice sustained fire almost continuously for hours, because they become very hot, practically all machine guns fire from an open bolt, to permit air cooling from the breech between bursts. They also usually have either a barrel cooling system, slow-heating heavyweight barrel, although subdivided into light, medium, heavy or general-purpose, even the lightest machine guns tend to be substantially larger and heavier than standard infantry arms. Medium and heavy guns are either mounted on a tripod or on a vehicle, when carried on foot. Medium machine guns use full-sized rifle rounds and are designed to be used from fixed positions mounted on a tripod. 50in, the M249 automatic rifle is operated by an automatic rifleman, but its ammunition may be carried by other Soldiers within the squad or unit. The M249 machine gun is a crew-served weapon, Machine guns usually have simple iron sights, though the use of optics is becoming more common. Many heavy machine guns, such as the Browning M2.50 caliber machine gun, are enough to engage targets at great distances. During the Vietnam War, Carlos Hathcock set the record for a shot at 7382 ft with a.50 caliber heavy machine gun he had equipped with a telescopic sight. This led to the introduction of.50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, selective fire rifles firing a full-power rifle cartridge from a closed bolt are called automatic rifles or battle rifles, while rifles that fire an intermediate cartridge are called assault rifles. Unlocking and removing the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it out of the weapon as bolt is moving rearward Loading the next round into the firing chamber. Usually the recoil spring tension pushes bolt back into battery and a cam strips the new round from a feeding device, cycle is repeated as long as the trigger is activated by operator. Releasing the trigger resets the trigger mechanism by engaging a sear so the weapon stops firing with bolt carrier fully at the rear, the operation is basically the same for all autoloading firearms, regardless of the means of activating these mechanisms. Most modern machine guns use gas-operated reloading, a recoil actuated machine gun uses the recoil to first unlock and then operate the action. Machine guns such as the M2 Browning and MG42, are of this type, a cam, lever or actuator demultiplicates the energy of the recoil to operate the bolt

38.
Army corps general
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An army corps general or corps general is a senior rank in several armies, including those of France and Italy. The rank is the equivalent of a lieutenant general in the armies of other countries, the rank of général de corps darmée was created in November 1994 as the highest rank in the Armée nationale populaire, the rank below it being Major General. Its rank badge shows three stars, the first officer to be promoted to the rank was general Mohamed Lamari, chief of staff of the ANP. After Ghezeiels death in July 2014, only Toufik and Gaid Salah were the living holders of the rank. Since July 2015, they have been joined by general Ahmed Bousteila, commander of the Gendarmerie nationale, in the Czechoslovak Army, the rank of a corps general existed between 1947 and 1953. It was replaced by the general rank under Soviet Army influence in 1953. The rank of general de cuerpo de ejército operates similarly to that in France, the rank of général de corps darmée (general of an army corps is junior to the rank of général darmée and senior to général de division. Officially, it is not a rank, but a style and it is the third of four general ranks. These ranks were simplified by a decree creating the ranks of général de corps darmée, the equivalent rank in the Air Force is général de corps darmée aérien and in the Navy is vice-amiral descadre. In Italy the rank of generale di corpo darmata or Tenente Generale is shown by three stars and a greca for the Army, Guardia di Finanza and Carabinieri and it is equivalent to squadron admiral in the Italian Navy and generale di squadra aerea in the Italian Air Force

39.
Ferdinando Cona
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Ferdinando Cona was an Italian military officer who participated in World War II. Granatieri di Sardegna Infantry Brigade, C. O, Infantry Brigade, Deputy Chief of Staff, East Africa, General Officer Commanding 7th Division Leonessa, General Officer Commanding XV Corps, General Officer Commanding XX Corps, North Africa. He took over as commander-in-chief of X Army when General Tellera was killed in action at the battle of Beda Fomm in February 1941 and his command was short-lived as he was captured by Allied forces during the same battle

40.
Derna, Libya
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Derna /ˈdɜːrnə/ is a port city in eastern Libya. It has a population of 100, 000–150,000 and it was the seat of one of the wealthiest provinces in the Barbary States, and remains the capital of the Derna District, with a much smaller area. Derna has a unique environment among Libyan cities, as it lies between mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, and the desert. The city is home to people of mixed origins. The city was also the location of the famous Battle of Derna, occurring during the First Barbary War, the battle was fought between a force of roughly 500 US Marines and Mediterranean mercenaries and four or five thousand Barbary troops. Parts of the city were taken over by Islamic State of Iraq, in June 2015 Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna defeated ISIL and took control over the town. Darnis and Darne were the Greek forms of the name for the city, while the form Dardanis is sometimes found, it is erroneous. Under Rome the city was referred to as Darnis and Derna, under Islam, it was known as Derneh or Terneh. In the Hellenistic period the ancient city of Darnis was part of the Libyan Pentapolis, under Rome, it became a civil and later the religious metropolis of the province of Libya Secunda, or Libya Inferior, that is, the Marmarica region. The names of some of its bishops are found in extant documents. Piso was one of the Eastern bishops who withdrew from the Council of Sardica, early 5th-century Dioscorus is known because of a dispute he had with the bishop of Erythrum. Daniel took part in the Council of Ephesus in 431, in addition, John Moschus speaks of a bishop Thedodorus of Darnis as having had a vision of Saint Leo the Great in the mid-5th century. No longer a residential bishopric, Darnis is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, the city was resettled by the Islamic refugees from Spain in 1493 on the site of the ancient settlement. This in turn, in 1875, became the vilayet of Cyrenaica, in the 1850s it had an estimated 4,500 inhabitants, who lived by agriculture, fishing and the coastal trade. The oldest mosque in Derna is Al-masjeed al-ateeq, or the Old Mosque, restored by wali Mahmoud Karamanli in 1772 and this kind of vault was in use due to lack of some materials, like timber or stone in the region of Cyrenaica. There is another mosque, named Masjeed az-zawiyah, built in 1846, the French admiral Gantheaume landed at Derna in June 1800 in an attempt to reinforce Napoleon in Egypt by bringing troops overland, but was rebuffed by the local garrison. Derna was the location of the 1805 Battle of Derne, in which forces under U. S, lieutenant and former Consul to Tripoli William Eaton—who had marched 500 miles across the Libyan Desert from Alexandria—captured the city as part of the First Barbary War. On 16 October 1911 Italian troops occupied Derna during the Italo-Turkish War, on 30 January 1941, during the Second World War, Australian troops captured Derna from the Italians in the North African Campaign

The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but …

22 January 1941. Members of 'C' Company, 2/11th Infantry Battalion, having penetrated the Italian outer defences at Tobruk and attacked anti-aircraft positions, assemble again on the escarpment at the south side of the harbour. (Photographer: Frank Hurley.)

British 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loaded (RML) Gun on a Moncrieff disappearing mount, at Scaur Hill Fort, Bermuda. This is a part of a fixed battery, meant to protect against over-land attack and to serve as coastal artillery.